The central card in the spread is Trump XV, which shows two particularly pointed images of fertility, and pairs them with the wisdom of bearing practical fruit that delights the self and moves the community and the world forward. Although this card is named “Devil,” bear in mind that many ancient gods, historical characters, figures from the Old and New Testament, and Masonic concepts made their way into Tarot decks starting in fifteenth century northern Italy, before some slant on all of it was devised by Aleister Crowley and published in 1969 (DuQuette, Lon Milo. Understanding Aleister Crowley’s Thoth Tarot. San Francisco, CA: Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC, 2003). The word says “Devil” which is traditionally a separate entity from the Supreme; an entity which embodies all the basic human drives and longings and categorizes them as that which should be avoided.

Looking at the meaning of the card through the images, we see a three-eyed Himalayan goat smiling wisely from the center of the card. This takes the virtues of Capricorn to the next level. The Capricorn spirit tenaciously pursues practical tasks in order to make them bear fruit. That could be a lot of responsibility and not much fun, until we examine the life of the mountain goat, which is Capricorn’s symbol. This goat loves its carefree life wandering the Earth’s summits, chomping the Earth’s vegetation and either fertilizing other goats or being fertilized. No burdensome responsibilities there, just genuine enjoyment. In this way, the Heart also wants to strike a balance between the freedom to follow the creative impulse and bearing practical fruit.

Another prominent image of the central card is a phallus with its tip in the heavens and developing male and female figures in the testes. One could try to say this image is a tree with globular roots, but, come on. The card states loud and clear that the sowing and reaping of seeds is an ecstatic experience at the outset and that the results would be heavenly (tip in the heavens), and pro-social (creation of more human members of society). In light of the original question for this reading, when was the last time the Heart was trusted to create life out of what gives it ecstasy? Perhaps great fear or judgments about the authority of ecstasy as a primary guide intercepted the feeling until the Heart became silent. This New Moon offers support to sow new seeds. What would those seeds be?

This interpretation of the central card is further supported by the cards in the spread to the left and the right. The 6 of Cups brings forth the Sun in Scorpio. The Sun’s golden, creative energies sit well in the deep emotional sea of Scorpio, and the experience is not only physically pleasurable, pointing once again to comparisons with sexual ecstasy, but also profound, like the depths of the ocean. As a picture of the wisdom of the Heart’s feelings (Cups), it validates the leadership that the Heart has to offer.

To the right of the central card, the 10 of Wands represents the end of all that represses the Heart’s wise, creative impulses. In this image, Saturnian value for observing limitations oppresses Sagittarian love of travel, culture, social customs, philosophy and inspired participation in the arts. The situation here is unbearable and unfortunate. Fortunately, a 10 card means a natural segue to any other Ace in the deck, as the 10’s are the highest number in the minor arcana and, having run their course for their suit, they are reaching to return to the Supreme by transitioning to an Ace of another suit. As a component of this spread, this card signifies the dawning of realization about the value of the ecstasy discussed in the central card, and the timeliness of effort to connect to a guide or a support (like the New Moon) to remember how unlimited potential feels (Ace = unlimited).

A prayer to go forward with this spread:

May the Moon be welcomed with gratitude as a faithful friend in the creative caves of the Heart. May all other desirable guides and Holy Guardian Angels also be welcomed with gratitude. May the Heart be reminded of how ecstasy feels, and become a channel for its flow into the world. May that flow of ecstasy keep the Heart aligned with the Divine and humanity. May life be a sweet journey of smiles and loving connections. May it be so for you, dear reader. May it be so for me. May it be so for all those who we support, out of our sense of responsibility and commitment to their well-being.

There will also be a lunar eclipse on September 27th which will be a blood moon because the moon will appear red in Charlottesville, Virginia during the eclipse. To find the eclipse time in your time zoneclick here.

Question: How does this Full Moon support the Heart?

Summary: This Full Moon supports the Heart’s desire to put a decisive end to situations that continue to demand mental attention. As a result, this Full Moon frees up energy to support unique, remarkable, charismatic personal qualities that the Heart longs to express.

The Spread (click on card name to view image or scroll down to view spread):

In the tension of this Full Moon in Aries when the Sun is opposite in Libra, the Moon supports the Heart’s effort to move forward decisively on situations that drain mental energy. The central card is the Princess of Swords. While decision making can be a dry mental process, the decision making process fueled by this Full Moon goes much deeper, to the level where the will of the intellect is aligned in a greater way, as shown in the Ace of Swords. This alignment perfectly supports unusual, charismatic personal qualities shown in the Princess of Wands because these qualities themselves can be dangerous if not balanced by awareness of context and relationship with others

The Princess of Swords carries the responsibility of implementing the qualities of her lord, the Ace of Swords, in the physical world. In the image, she guards the throne of the Ace while wielding the sword of mental analysis as if to cut through the grey, stormy atmosphere around her. She wears a Medusa’s crest upon her head. In the context of this reading, this card from the suit of the realm of the intellect (Swords) says that the Heart needs the assistance of mental processes to organize a conclusion of situations of controversy. The Heart wishes to take action/decision, and such motion in the outer world engages the mind. There have been matters piling up that obstruct further expansion of the Heart, and in it’s own wisdom, the Heart knows that this is the time to bring these matters to an end. This Princess represents skillfulness and adeptness at practical matters, so it is likely that one will easily clean up messy problems and move forward. The Medusa’s head on this Princess’ crest represents the power to make solid whatever is volatile. Since the head is not facing the viewer, it is optional to have/not have a vengeful approach when identifying solutions. This Full Moon with heightened power due to a lunar eclipse and this Full Moon’s physical closeness to the Earth can be the unseen support for the Heart’s wishes.

The Ace of Swords not only has a special relationship with the Princess of Swords, but it also appears in the reading to be reflected on in its own right. This Ace carries the pure form of the intellect, including individual will and survival-instinct. In Arabic-Demascened script, the blade of this magnificent sword (the sword of the magus) is inscribed with the Greek word thelema, which is a multi-layered word referring to the individual Will. First, the meaning of thelema is not simply the will to do whatever flies into one’s head, it is the Will to go forward with the symphony of personal attributes that one has, while also offering them in alignment with the law of love. The crescent moons on the hilt of the sword signify the subconscious and unconscious mental processes that also participate in the quest of aligning the Will with the law of love, such as dreaming, making projections, working out karma, organizing task companions, etc. The Will would be connected to the Heart’s lifetime agenda, even though that agenda has to be intuited by non-intellectual processes. Engaging in the Heart’s agenda is how thelema would align with universal love.

Second, the meaning of thelema also contains the survival instinct. The intellect usually operates on the basis of preserving its organism, unless there has been trauma to that instinct. If the instinct has been traumatized, one goes about over-compromising oneself such that others gain at one’s expense. Meditating on the Ace of Swords card with the intention of healing the survival instinct would be timely during this Full Moon, especially with Tantric and Vedic chandra (moon) or soma (moon) mantras. Gurus teach that these mantras support the mind. In the context of this reading, the Heart puts faith in the intellect’s ability to achieve the balance of thelema under the law of love, and is ready to go to work. This Full Moon offers empowerment to the success of that collaboration.

The Princess of Wands appears to emphatically underscore the Heart’s desire to carry out a few shrewd decisions so that it can have room to expand into its more exotic attributes. One can wrap up one practical matter only to begin another. As interesting and laudable as it may be to be adept at practical matters, the Heart also has unusual, charismatic qualities it expects to manifest in the near future. This Princess defends her Ace’s rams-head throne (Aries = ram) by tending a sacrificial fire on it, and making herself part of the fuel for the flame. Sound dangerous? It can be. Therefore, working on these gifts together with considering the state of the survival instinct would be wise. This Full Moon offers support wherever one’s resources reach their limits.

Looking at the images of the three cards overall, there are two images showing priestesses faithfully defending their thrones/altars, and one in which the lord of one altar appears. It is a visual signal from the Tarot about attending to one’s spiritual practice faithfully. A Tarot spread can condense the many astrological dynamics at play on a given day into a few images. There is a reminder here of the importance of one’s spiritual practice (ritual, ceremony, journal writing, meditation/prayer, yoga/chi gong, chanting, dreamwork, inner work, etc.). The reminder is strong enough that it indicates the timeliness of improving the quality of one’s spiritual practice. I humbly accept the challenge.

Prayer for going forward with this spread:

May the Moon and its powerful fullness and closeness be welcome on the Heart’s altar. May all other cherished spirits who guide and protect the Heart also be welcome. May the Will have ears for the Heart’s signals as it works towards greater clarity in practical situations. May the Will experience its full potential in safety and in alignment with love. May the most individualized form of talents and gifts find expression in life to the benefit of the self and others. May this sense of all parts of oneself working together in harmony be a permanent step of consciousness and an irreversible mode of operation. May the value of spiritual practice shine like a gem in the mind’s eye. May it be so for you, dear reader. May it be so for me. May it be so for anyone in the world who has longed for freedom to be themselves. May their individuality be faithful to the law of love, and may they be loved, accepted and supported.

To watch a slideshow presentation with an audio recording of this reading, click here.

Question: How does this New Moon support the Heart?

Summary of Interpretation:

This New Moon supports transitioning from logical life-visioning to spontaneous life-creation. This supports the Heart’s ability to be aligned with non-converging forces that are all beneficial to the Self and others when those forces are in their positive poles.

The Spread (click on card name to view image or scroll down to view spread)

This New Moon supports initiating work around issues related to the 7 of Swords. In this spread, the card stands between two diverging forces, Trump IV and the Queen of Cups. Its relationship to those cards heightens the significance of the card. In the card’s image, there is a central sword bearing the Sun’s symbol intercepted by six small swords bearing the symbols of the Moon, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Mercury, and Saturn. As much as each of these planets offers gainful qualities, no gain in any direction that serves the Heart’s work can be made while the mind gropes in the dark for a path of progress that logically combines all these forces. Similarly, the mind gropes in the dark for a path of progress that logically combines the gifts inherent in Trump IV and the Queen of Cups.

Considering the two cards to the sides of the 7 of Swords and the question posed at the beginning of the reading, the reading does not so much indicate that it is useless to try to assimilate dissimilar gifts as it indicates the limitations of mental processes in achieving the task. Even though the expression of all the planets represented in the image may draw heavily from skills and abilities which have engaged the mind, still, when those skills become channels for the flow of energy, it may be beyond the limits of the mind to orchestrate the activity.

To the left of the central card is Trump IV with its dominant red ruler sitting crowned on his throne. This image speaks of successfully tapping into a very grounded sense of “I am.” In that place of knowing, there is also a sense of untamed inspiration, adventure, courage, and advanced skills like the rams (Aries= Mars + Sun) flanking the ruler’s shoulders. It is a mastery to be acquainted with oneself to the extent that no other influence interferes with self-governance. A white light shines on the ruler from above, signifying an alignment with a greater consciousness. Just as the ruler’s gaze is turned away from the central card, so also this card in the spread creates tension that the mind has not yet reconciled.

To the right of the central card is the Queen of Cups who proposes an entirely different ruler-ship in which mastery lies in the clarity with which one reflects others to themselves. In the image, the crescent moons symbolizing the intuitive and creative consciousness veil the Queen mysteriously. She stands before water which in its tranquil state captures her reflection beautifully. Having developed herself in a deep way, she now has a multitude of resources that can be engaged as necessary to reflect others’ qualities to them. With that validation and acknowledgement, their gifts bloom and bear fruit. She is therefore a mother goddess, capable of nurturing the multitudes.

So much is this Queen a maternal image that she herself forms the image of a cup, as in the suit of Cups where she reigns. Her body forms the stem, and the crescent moons crowning her are the bowl. She is an “empty vessel” like the Heart itself, into which the wine of life flows without effort from her. This selfless surrender to containing whatever waters that flow, or reflecting whatever visage that approaches is the opposing force to Trump IV which has a very concrete sense of personal gifts to express to the world.

In the genre of children’s poetry, there is a book by Shel Silverstein entitled “Where the Sidewalk Ends.” This is relevant to this spread because the task of expressing Trump IV occupies time and energy in such a different way than the task of expressing the Queen of Cups that one becomes confused about how many involvements in the physical world one can undertake. This New Moon supports the exploration at the end of the sidewalk of self-regulation as facilitated by mental processes.

Tidbit about Shamanic Practices:

Shamanic practices include vision questing. In a vision quest, a guide may appear to assist the individual when he/she has reached the outer limits of known experience. Thus, there would be guidance into safe new experiences, which allows for the growth of consciousness and the expansion of the Heart.

The Ace of Wands in this spread appeared when a guide for the spread’s work was requested of the Tarot. This New Moon is still the spiritual force behind the work. Additionally, the Ace of Wands and its image of the Qabalistic Tree of Life bursting with flames in the positions of the traditional sepiroths can assist the actual method of moving from mentally processing plans and intentions to navigating non-convergent currents which are aligned with the Heart’s visions for its gifts. Use the image meditatively and therapeutically to discover how to raise levels of trust and surrender while allowing the Heart’s operations that are beyond the mind’s radar to operate. This is the image that is the bone to throw to the barking dog of the mind which starts to tremble and chatter when it does not know the outcome.

A prayer to go forward with this spread:

May the spiritual support of this New Moon and the support of all desirable guides be welcome into the Heartspace. May the Heart find companionship and food for its journey from them. May the high-impact gifts that the Self has developed express themselves radiantly and accomplish the global service they are capable of in the world. May the inner reservoir of all facets of the human being continue to help fellow humans give birth to their life-changing gifts. May the walking of this path be simple and lit by an eternal light. May it be so for you, dear reader. May it be so for me. May it be so for all our loved ones and the people of this Earth whose lives we touch.

In some religious philosophies, it is stated that we are fully human and fully divine. Somewhere in between, there must then be a crossroads where the two states act on each other, uploading and downloading experiences, and transforming the perspective the mind holds in order to accommodate the flow of new stimulus from both sides.

Trump XIV in this spread appears at the crossroads where this Full Moon can give supportive power. The central figure is half light and half dark, equally balanced, aligned with natural elements which have already understood and undertaken a balancing transformation (Fiery lion is white, Scorpionic eagle is red). The figure mixes an elixir of vitriol to dissolve the past while the future bulges and strains to emerge in the enlarged Orphic egg behind the figure. The inscription on the egg translates to “”Visit the interior parts of the earth: by rectification, thou shalt find the hidden stone.” What shall be the focus of rectification?

This Full Moon offers its power to rectify the fully human desire for excessive wealth and luxury. It is there in every human consciousness, and some large percentage of people on Earth are exploring the range of experiences on its axis every day. The 7 of Disks appears when such desires have bumped up against limitations such as one’s mortality, the number of hours in a day, and the rate at which wealth can multiply itself given current circumstances. As much as more decadent experiences (Taurus) would have been enjoyed, limitations (Saturn) appeared as corridors to other experiences. Would those experiences have to be as gloomy as the image in the card? Hell no!

This Full Moon also shines its bright, silvery light on an alternative, that is, generating an empowering and resourceful experience of emotional and spiritual bounty. This bountifulness, shown in the 3 of Cups, overflows with love and happiness and the sense of eternity of these feelings. However, this is not the abundant bliss enjoyed by a fetus in its mother’s womb, or an infant suckling at his/her mother’s breast. Going back to the central card’s connection to rectification of interior parts, the source of the 3 of Cups’ endless replenishment is a wise and mature experience. The cups are studded with pomegranate seeds, alluding to the Demeter and Persephone mythology in which because of eating a pomegranate seed on her way out of the underworld, Persephone became obligated to return to that world and her husband Pluto, lord of the underworld every year. There is a connection between having realization about the excessive desires in the 7 of Disks and the passage to the underworld in oneself. We don’t tend to think of that passage as a magical, miraculous one, as Persephone was trying to leave the underworld when she ate the pomegranate seed, However, Persephone became acquainted with Pluto and the underworld as she was coming of age. Adulthood has different rites of passage than childhood.

In adult life, maintaining a stable sense of inner wellness is connected to having some personal impact on the physical world. The passage to the underworld is not simply an escape or a withdrawal from everyday life. Rather, in astrology, Pluto is the planet that facilitates settling karmic accounts, orchestrating the appearance of task companions for one’s heartfelt initiatives and transforming global systems and perspectives that have passed their time, These are tasks that the conscious mind of an individual simply can not tackle alone. That does not mean that they should not be considered. It just means that the passage to the place in the Self where those initiatives are fueled needs to be discovered. This Full Moon is longing to help.

Prayer for going forward with this spread:

May the Moon, all helpful spirit guides, saints, and the one Divine be welcome in the Heart. May the Heart’s call for attention on matters of the Soul and global transformation be heard above all other noise. May activities that nourish the Heart be done to fuel the passage to the underworld. May that journey be protected and guided however necessary. May new life that is magically bountiful emerge from that journey. May the entrance to the passage be available again as a form of spiritual mastery. May it be so for you, dear reader. May it be so for me. May it be so for all who we love and the people of the world who we lovingly pray for as well.

This New Moon, being a time of new efforts, supports taking a leap forward with great risk involved. In order to guide the Heart at the time of such risk, this New Moon also supports the Heart’s ability to be grounded in happiness that is constant and stable, and to be grounded in awareness of what has been left behind or outgrown.

The Spread (click on card name to view image or scroll down to view spread):

The Knight of Wands at the center of the spread shows a fiery burst of energy behind an armored knight on a horse rearing to go which relates to a strong will to go in a particular direction. The knight holds forth a fiery torch as well. However, in spite of all of this “go forward” imagery, the fire of the torch, and the hair of the knight and the horse are flying forward because of an explosion that is coming from behind them. Thus, not only are they moving forward on great impulse, but they are being compelled forth as well. There is so much energy moving in a single direction. Yet, as high-powered as this may be, the knight and horse may miss the target, pass it, fall short of it, or not even recognize it. So, in deciding whether this is a “good card” or “bad card,” keep in mind that the New Moon is supporting the wisdom of the Heart. The wise Heart not only has a strong impulse, but also tools to manage the energy of the impulse, which the New Moon is supporting.

One such tool is simply in drawing attention to the Heart itself, where there is a constant sense of what makes happiness. The 9 of Cups shows nine lotuses filling nine cups in neatly organized rows and columns. There is really nothing wasteful or off-balance here. The Heart, symbolized by each cup, is full and able to give generously but in appropriate moderation. Reflecting on what has always energized the Heart, made it happy in a stable way, and what has become a resource for sharing with others would inform the impulse shown in the Knight of Wands. Then, instead of being a wild impulse that runs out of fuel, the impulse would be a leap forward in a direction that the Heart has always cherished, and because of this alignment, any motion in that direction would be gainful, whether or not the ultimate target is reached.

A second tool to manage the Heart’s strong will is in the processes of decay that have already been undertaken, as shown in Trump XIII. In this card, a skeleton is in the act of stirring up new life out of the decay at the bottom of the ocean where dead, putrefied fish lay. Wait, isn’t a skeleton a scary image of death that should send a chill of fear through the one who draws the card? NO. Here, there is triumph in the long awaited release of energy from old patterns and beliefs the Heart worked on hard enough to transform and release. The eagle rising over the skeleton’s headdress resembles the sense of stable, constant liberation seen in the 9 of Cups. In the context of this reading, the energy harvested from such deep inner work adds a steady fuel to the impulse the Heart may undertake. Additionally, it adds a sense of direction, in that the Heart would be wise to leave alone what has been put in the grave, and leap in a new direction . . . a direction of long awaited, long anticipated happiness.

A prayer to go forward with this spread:

May the spirit of this New Moon and all personal guides and saviors be welcome. In this time of undertaking a risk, may the Heart be glad to go forward in a sacred direction. May it be protected from digging in the graveyard. May the Heart embrace new life and new beginnings courageously and fearlessly. May the Heart value any amount of progress that can be made. May unexpected support provide even more energy for the move forward. May it be so for you, dear reader. May it be so for me. May it be so for all beings we encounter, and those we love.

To find the time of the Blue Moon/Full Moon in your time zone, click here.

To watch a slideshow presentation with an audio recording of this reading, click here (8:00 minutes).

Question: How does this Blue Moon/Full Moon support the Heart?

Summary: Blue Moon’s rare occurrence is offering a rare support. That which the Heart has valued over time and brought to a state of maturity internally could move forward into physical reality. This is personally and globally important in the effort to make the physical world reflect more and more of the balance, abundance, and compassion present in the seed of all experience.

The Spread (click on card name to view image or scroll down to view spread):

Tidbit about the mystical Qabalah: A concept of the Tree of Life in mystical Qabalah studies offers a tree-like structure to organize worlds of experience. At the “top” a seed of pure and luminous experience exists that is accessed through states of consciousness such as meditation, ceremonial intoxication, creative impulse, dreaming, and suffering. At the “bottom” a world of material life exists that reflects fragments of the light at the “top.” Between the “top” and “bottom” of the tree are worlds that extend the experience of the seed through branches and divisions of emotions, creativity and thought patterns until they reach material manifestation – fragmented and diluted, but shining with some original light anyway. The Tarot uses this mystical Qabalah Tree of Life structure to organize the progression of cards from Ace to Ten in each suit, and to make a relationship between the end of one suit and the beginning of another, such as the way the central card in the Blue Moon spread is the beginning of a transition to the Ace of Disks.

The 10 of Cups shows the Heart’s experience (luminous liquid streaming from the golden cup at the top of the Tree of Life all the way through and beyond the many golden cups on the branches and trunk below) of a very peaceful, spiritual, pure, compassionate, generous state (symbol of Pisces on bottom cup). It is not a static state, however. Some cups are off-balance and others are overflowing. There is tension to move forward like a Warrior (symbol of Mars on top cup). This aggressive motivation seems unrelated to the peaceful experience the Heart has been incubating, however, it is necessary to transition into physical manifestation (10 of Cups transitions to Ace of Disks). Therefore, this Blue Moon offers to add fuel to the flames (fiery red color throughout) that launch the Heart from a solid inner experience to a shared outer one — which the Heart has longed for but dared not attempt.

Given that this Blue Moon is the support but not the pilot of the Heart’s rocket, the Tarot has provided two assistants to mitigate the relationship between the Heart and the Mind; the Prince of Swords and Trump O. Working with these assistants will keep the Heart in the driver’s seat and open a channel for higher support.

The Prince of Swords’ basic dilemma is the creation of many good ideas (sword raised in right hand) without follow-through (sickle for harvest held aimlessly in left hand).

The Tarot offers Trump O as the antidote. Meditating on its image supports the Heart’s courage to act on one good idea at a time to achieve a goal. The central figure is intoxicated with the divinity of the task at hand (grapevine sprouts from the heart). Additionally, the card shows numerous eternal gifts that always belonged to the figure (sun-colored diamond crown, bag of coins in hand with astrological symbols on each one, Holy Grail with fluid showering the figure in one hand, alchemical fire power bursting from other hand, suit of green creativity, and many more that have been the subject of entire books).

This character does not look for reasons to be courageous. His/her divinity turns the key in the lock of the intellect, so that past experience does not obstruct his/her sense of ever-expanding good fortune and the relevance of all occurrences. Anything is possible. His/her Heart is in the driver’s seat (three spirals laden with symbols/gifts connect the figure’s heart to realms of unlimited potential beyond the top of the Tree of Life like an umbilical cord). These images are cognitive supports that encourage the Heart to accept ideas from the Mind that can manifest the vision and fight for them. The fighting will be more like flying forward (figure’s feet are in the air) than exhausting warfare. Meditating on the images in the card will also help shield the Heart from the Mind’s fearful thoughts (the tiger biting the figure’s leg does not bother him/her). This is the work this Blue Moon is available to support.

A prayer for going forward with this spread: May the spirit of the Moon and all supportive personal guides, spirits and prophets be welcome into the Heart’s chambers. May the Heart be comforted by their presence and through them remember the unlimited power that began the universe. May the Heart surrender to the moment and fly forward to fight for its space in the world. May all possible gifts and good luck come forth in assistance. May the Heart be happy. May it be so for you, dear reader. May it be so for me. May it be so for every being in our lives and around the world.